Insinuating that the former president was “Hitler-like” did not count as defamation, a federal judge has ruled
Donald Trump waves as he arrives at New Orleans International Airport in New Orleans, Louisiana, July 25, 2023 © AP / Gerald Herbert
Former US president Donald Trump had his lawsuit against CNN dismissed on Friday. Trump claimed that by describing his allegations of election fraud in 2020 as “the Big Lie,” the network was comparing him to Adolf Hitler, who coined the phrase in ‘Mein Kampf’.
Trump sought damages of $475 million from CNN, arguing that the network deployed the phrase “the Big Lie” to hurt his reputation and political career. By choosing a phrase so closely associated with Nazi Germany, CNN incited “readers and viewers to hate, contempt, distrust, ridicule, and even fear” Trump, his legal team claimed.
Trump still maintains that US President Joe Biden was fraudulently elected in 2020, arguing that Democratic officials in several key swing states counted ineligible ballots and placed defective voting machines in Republican districts to give Biden the edge on his Republican contender. None of his claims have ever been substantiated in court, and CNN and other liberal outlets have since referred to Trump’s allegations as “the Big Lie.”
Prior to 2020, the phrase was most commonly associated with Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Writing in ‘Mein Kampf’ in 1925, Hitler described “the Big Lie” as a lie so incredulous that those hearing it have no choice but to believe it, as they “would not believe others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously.” Multiple uses of the phrase are also attributed to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels.
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However, US District Judge Raag Singhal ruled that CNN’s references to the phrase were statements of opinion, rather than fact.
“Being ‘Hitler-like’ is not a verifiable statement of fact that would support a defamation claim,” Singhal wrote. “CNN’s statements, while repugnant, were not, as a matter of law, defamatory.”
“The Court finds Nazi references in the political discourse (made by whichever ‘side’) to be odious and repugnant,” he continued, adding that despite being in poor taste, these references did “not give rise to a plausible inference that Trump advocates the persecution and genocide of Jews.”
The dismissal comes as Trump is attempting to raise money to fight several high-profile legal battles. Trump is facing criminal charges for his alleged mishandling of classified documents, an impending grand jury indictment for his alleged attempts to reverse his 2020 election loss, and state level cases in New York and Georgia. Trump’s campaign team has reportedly created a legal defense fund to cover some of his legal bills, which have already run into the tens of millions of dollars, ABC News reported on Sunday.
Trump maintains that, as the leading Republican presidential candidate, he is being persecuted by President Joe Biden’s Justice Department for political reasons.
